Lessons I learned & still learning:
I’m a human being, born in India and living in Austin, Texas. Following is what I have learned so far in the journey of my life which I wanted to share. Most of the things I wrote are my own views based on my perceptions which could change with new experiences in life:-) So please do not read further and if you do please do not judge me on my perception:-)
I feel blissful & peaceful most of the time (well if it was every moment then I will be considered an enlightened human being which I am not). I enjoy time with family, friends, work, traveling & mother nature. Also I am thankful to endless number of people, living beings, mother nature to teach me lessons everyday.
EGO
Oh boy! How much money we make, how big of house or car we have, how good we look, how our kids are intelligent, how we are better than most other people … Wow list goes on…. Ego just makes us sillier and insane human being.
2 cents: Remember there is always someone better than us in this world in every aspect :-) Also, there is a difference between ego and being proud. It’s good to be proud of things like our country, our family, friends etc. Never brag or compare your strength with other human beings as there is always someone better than you.
RESPECT
Sometimes knowingly/unknowingly we disrespect people who are under privileged or not as good as at least based on our perception. How many times we stereo type?
2 cents: Every human being has some strength and some weakness. We don’t have to follow but respect other’s point of view. Yes, they can be wrong or right but who are we to judge? Want respect then respect.
KARMA
It took me years to understand this word. Let’s say when we get angry, upset, jealous on someone, what happens is that even before we realize, our thoughts have already changed our physiology, stress hormones have been released and we have been punished by the law of nature (Karma in this instance). Read this again:-)
2 cents: Be good, do good, feel good….
SELF PITY
Oh, why me? Why do I have all the problems? How come every one is enjoying, has good family, has money, good health except me :-(
2 cents: Look around… How many times you see people who are always smiling, happy & blissful? If you happen to come across any such person, then yes take self-pity on yourself and work to become like that person:-)
Everyone has some issues to deal with e.g. cholesterol, diabetics, broken relations, addictions, hyper thinking… It’s just we can’t see or know about it most of the time. Stay away from social media if you happen to think everyone is happy and blissful except you :-)
FEAR & GREED
Most humans are fearful of something or other e.g. success, job, money, relations, health, other human beings, emotions, roller coasters …. How many times we worry of negatives outcomes of our health, wealth, aging, better job, better spouse, kids, friends … How many times we over protect ourselves and kids?
2 cents: Repeat “All is well and all will be well”. Instead of worrying, work towards it with positive mindset. Learn to fail and let people fail. That’s how we learn the best. So never be afraid of failures and harness it. Make a list of things you are fearful of. Conquer each fear one by one, start living towards fear free life.
Let’s say you are fearful of speaking in public (which is very common…) go and tell yourself that let’s get little humiliated, be ready for it, grab an opportunity to speak on stage and do it with goal of getting embarrassed and still do it:-)
WORK & SUCCESS
Heard this before??? Work, work, work so some day we can relax & enjoy our life. You will be successful when you work too hard, try hard because life is hard….
2 cents:
Don’t be lazy. Work with passion and enjoy! Make a positive impact when you are working. Be sharp and razor focussed!
Well, not everyone has a choice with what kind of work you get to choose (yes in developing country it is not that easy at all). But remember we have limited number of hours in life e.g. 120 years * 365 days * 24 hours :-)Balance work and life based on our own individual capacity and likings. Mostly it is trading time with career/money/passion. Balance :-)
TIME
Oh, I am so busy, I have no time to relax. I work long hours, family to take care, kids’ education, mortgages to pay, cooking, cleaning ….
2 cents:
Take chill pill :-)Manage priorities. Cut down electronics time. Do what is needed and don’t do what is not needed:-) Every one has limited time on the planet, it’s just we trade that for things which are not priority. Time cannot be manufactured!
RELATIONS
I don’t like him/her, parents, in-laws, friends, people of that race, religion, society, work etc
2 cents:
Take chill pill :-)Each of us belong to some race, religion, society too. Don’t judge anyone. Respect and never forget your parents, family, teachers, friends, co-workers, needy people and everyone around. Never ever forget anyone who ever helped you or thought of helping you. Parents have done lot of hard work selflessly, your mother has thought about you every moment, father has worked hard for you, your teachers have taught life lessons, your spouse works and worry for you, your relatives have given you extended family, friends have supported you … No one is perfect and no one should be. Live in harmony and enjoy the most fundamental human value of being human and making good relations.
EDUCATION
Oh, kids have to work too hard, go to best colleges and achieve success
2 cents: Oh boy, don’t get me started on this :-) Learning Math, science, getting best SAT score is going to educate them but not necessarily make them happy and blissful:-) Education is very important but educate yourself to become better person yourself not compare with others. Enjoy, understand and use education as a tool to become better and skilled person. Education has become rat race in some aspects, just be aware! Have you thought of designing own degree course? have you heard of credit transfer? Create own degree? Get educated not for a high paying job, but do it for learning a skill you want to learn. Focus on what you like and enjoy.
BEING OPINIONATED
In one of the TED talk, I heard about the importance of “Deep listening” and since then I have been trying to be less opinionated and I try to understand more what other person is saying rather than forcing my opinions. What I learned that give opinions when needed but don’t get too attached to it when conveying:-) We don’t have to change other’s thinking, because we could be so wrong:-)
PAIN vs SUFFERING
Yes we all get pain (physical or events) every now and then. Getting pain is usually not in our hand but suffering from that pain is in our hand mostly. For example, I twisted my knee while playing tennis, it’s going to pain. Do I have to suffer and cry? That’s up to me to choose…
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Ok, none of the above is applicable to me as I am perfect, always happy & blissful person. Great please don’t read further :-)
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Yoga, Meditation & sports
Every day we age little bit, so doing Yoga will keep our body like rubber-band. It teaches us to breath better and feel better. Too many benefits to list. Just do it:-)
How many times in a day we think same thing? Thousands of endless thoughts? When we were child did we think so much, where we fearful, unhappy, stressed? As we become adult we just keep thinking non-stop, how can we ever control emotions when things go wrong? So many small things we get annoyed with and our stress hormones gets released? Every time that happens we build perception in our sub-conscious minds. So research on mindfulness. Take charge of the monkey mind slowly!
Sports keeps us young. There are sports for all age groups:-)
To learn to swim, we need to jump in the pool. Same way reading about meditation is not going to help much. We need to mindfulness. Regular practice will bring mind to its natural & calm state and well become like child, fearless and happy:-)
Tip: For Yoga, I learned from Isha foundation, for meditation I learned vipassana! I practice little everyday but regularly:-)
POWER OF DOING NOTHING & INTUITION
Most problems can be solved using Analytical mind or Intuition of the mind. What do I mean? Dedicate some time in a day to do nothing. No electronics what so ever. Quite walk, sit under a tree, listen to birds, do something silly, be childish. A well-rested mind can find answers on its own most of the time. Just give it a goal and let magical power of intuition work :-) Don’t be lazy but learn to harness power of mind by both working and relaxing equally.
Sleep
Let body and mind repair with regular good night sleep, it’s the most amazing self-healing mechanism. Never cut down the sleep unless once in a while critical thing comes up that you have to deal with and don’t have much choice.
Goal should be to wake up without alarm naturally:-)
Food
Once we become adult we do not need too much food to maintain the body. Eat less, raw salad, nuts, less cooked food. Minimum food at night! Sure enough treat yourself with food you like once in a while!
Help yourself by helping others
There are billions of people who are under-privileged not having enough food to eat, safe water to drink, school to go, place to stay :-(
Let the energy keep flowing in the universe. We need to be a conductor and not insulator. Help needy people with whatever you can. Clean karma and heart. Good things will flow back because now we are a conductor of good vibrations :-)
Summary:
Doing good things, sleep, yoga & meditation releases peace and happy hormones, which will deflate ours EGO. Become a newborn child again! Stay blissful and peaceful :-)
